Spring Watch: Heron Return 2020

Great Blue Heron returned to Devil’s Lake State Park’s south shore rookery on Monday morning March 9th, 2020. We usually expect them right around Saint Patrick’s day but like most spring birds this year, they’ve arrived a bit early.

When we visited on Monday, there were maybe a dozen or so suffering through the rain. Over the next week or so even more heron will arrive to claim their spot. Right now the birds you see should mostly be males. The males arrive first to claim their nesting sites and fix them up for the new year. A bit later the females will arrive.

To understand why the return of the heron is exciting to so many people, you’ll want to know a bit more about the Great Blue Heron. The heron is a BIG, LOUD, BUSY bird. A Great Blue Heron can stand up to 4′ 5″ feet tall and sports a wingspan that can reach 6 ½ feet!  In the air, heron can fly nearly 25 mph! They are stealthy predators with scissor-like beaks that they use to stab frogs and snakes in shallow ponds and along the banks of bigger waters. The park’s rookery is made up of 50 to 100 nesting birds who fill the trees with bursts of noise and havoc. Some children might find the experience even a bit scary!

What’s unique here at Devil’s Lake, is that the heron built their rookery in a stand of pine trees surrounded by the group camp area with parking lot and restrooms. Because the birds selected this location, it is much easier for visitors to get up close and personal. Normally heron rookeries are better protected. It also means campers at the park’s group camp have noisy until about mid-July! It is against the law to disturb a rookery, however, visitors can get amazingly close right in the CCC parking lot [Printable Map] or by standing near the restrooms. A good rule-of-thumb is to simply stay out of the pines. You really don’t want to go in there anyway. Not only does it get filled with bird poop, but the favorite defense of the heron is to throw up on you. Imagine smelly, fish, snake & frog barf dropping down from the sky onto your head!!! And if that’s not enough, heron have also been known to use their beaks to pierce the skulls of invaders!!  Obviously, keep your pets on leash at all times!

For more info & pictures click here.

So there you go, another amazing reason to visit the Baraboo Hills & Devil’s Lake State Park!

Derrick Mayoleth

For nearly 2 decades the Skillet Creek blog has focused on 3 main goals; To inspire you to visit and explore the Devil’s Lake region, to help you get the most your visit by sharing tips, events, and other helpful information. Lastly to advocate for our environment & wildlife and talk about how we can keep our natural areas amazing now and into the future! That last goal can sometimes cause controversy, but it’s the only way we can accomplish the first two. – Derrick Mayoleth, Owner.